Hidden Curse
by metaphoricheart
Summary: Edmund has been hiding something from his family for years, and it all comes crashing down on his sixth winter in Narnia. Can Peter find a way to save him before it's too late? No slash or incest. My first chapter fic.
1. Enigma

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

**Other notes: This chapter may seem to move slowly, but trust me, it'll pick up/get more interesting next chapter. Also, this is my first chapter fic so I'm not sure how this is going to go.**

_**I do not own Narnia or it's characters.**_

**Chapter One: Enigma**

Their swords clanked in the wintery air. Peter drew in deep breathes, and couldn't help but note how nice the cool air felt inside his lungs. It seemed to give him a new source of energy that just wasn't there in the spring when they trained. He slashed, and blocked triumphantly, successfully beating Edmund for the fourth time in a row. Peter was too caught up in the adrenaline rush to take not that it was usually Edmund who was beating him four times. However this was soon broken by the sound of Edmund's sword clanking to the floor, and heavy breathing.

Peter looked up to find Edmund bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing hard, and looking slightly green.

"Ed?"

Edmund looked up, his deep brown eyes rimmed with large circles under them, meeting Peter's. He stared at the concerned look on Peter's face, and almost thought of telling him everything, but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind.

Instead he straightened up, smiled tightly at Peter, and said "I'm fine, Pete." Then he picked up his sword from the ground, and slowly walked off.

Peter stared after him, perplexed. Winter was always hard on Edmund, as it brought up past events and memories that still bothered him. However, this was their sixth winter in Narnia, and he usually had a pretty good grip on coping with it. This time he didn't seem to have any grip at all, despite the fact that he'd dealt with it five times before. It was almost like the first winter, only something seemed to be even more off.

Orieus broke his reverie. "I don't think he's fine, your Majesty."

Peter shook his head. "Me either."

He found Edmund in his quarters, looking for a tunic to replace his sweat and icicle drenched one. As he lifted up his shirt, Peter took a sharp intake of breath. Edmund had always been slender, but now Peter could not only see his ribs, but count them.

Edmund's head whipped around at the sound of Peter's breath. He saw Peter's eyes widen, staring at his stomach. Edmund blushed, and quickly yanked the tunic over his head. He then walked to the bathing area, and splashed his face with some water from the sink, looking anywhere but at Peter.

"Edmund," Peter croaked out.

Edmund took a deep calming breath, knowing what was coming next. "Yes?"

Peter seemed lost for words, scanning his little brother up and down. Even though Edmund was going to be 17 in two months, he was still the six year old who hid in Peter's bed during thunderstorms in Peter's eyes. Now that he'd seen Ed's ribs, he was scanning for other physical signs that told him something wasn't right. It wasn't hard. While Edmund no longer had a greenish tint, he was pale which was stark in contrast to the deep circles under his eyes. His face looked shrunken, and all around emanated poor health.

Edmund shifted uncomfortably as Peter scrutinized him. Peter finally spoke, "What's going on?"

"We're standing in a room, Pete." Edmund said sarcastically.

"You know that's not what I meant," Peter quietly replied.

Edmund looked away.

"Are you ill?" Peter tried again.

"Not exactly," Edmund said cryptically.

"Not exactly…what in Aslan's mane does that mean Ed?"

"It means just that." Edmund pushed past Peter, and stalked out of the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Peter called after him.

"I have to rule over a hearing between that beardless dwarf and centaur who claims that the other took his land tomorrow, remember? I need to look it over again."

He watched Edmund walk to the library, and had half the mind to call him back and force him into bed, but left it alone. It just didn't work that way with Edmund.

"You can see his ribs Susan…"

"You could always see them…"

"Yes but this time you can _count _them…"

"What happened a sword practice?"

"I won four times in a row. It's usually him, who's beating the pulp out of me. And then his sword clattered to the ground, and he had his hands on his knees, panting, and looked green."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"He got sarcastic, like he always does when he deflects questions. I asked him if he was ill, and he said not exactly."

"Not exactly…"

"I don't know…"

Edmund halted from his walk back from the library at the sound of hushed voices. He sighed, and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. He knew it was about him. He knew they'd be angry later that he hadn't told them what was going on, but the worry they felt now would be nothing compared to the worry they'd feel once he told. He couldn't bare to add another burden to his family at his expense, and not wanting to hear what they were saying, quickly walked on past. He flopped down on his bed, and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he had fallen straight into the grips of a nightmare.

"Where is he," Peter muttered nervously into his steadily growing colder dinner.

Susan nervously twiddled with her spoon, constantly looking at the door, hoping Edmund would walk through it.

Lucy, unaware of the events of the day, tried her best to suppress the growl her stomach just made. She knew her siblings were upset about the lack of Edmund's presence at the table, and wanted to know what was going. However, she knew better than to ask them now, so she politely waited until Peter deemed it was alright to start eating.

Susan looked up upon hearing Lucy's stomach. "Peter, we might as well start eating, poor Lucy is starving over there." She threw Lucy a weak smile.

"Alright," Peter sighed, although he didn't feel much like eating.

Meanwhile, Edmund bolted up in bed. Sweat poured down his face, as he threw off his covers, and began pacing. That'd been a particularly nasty dream, even though the only part he could clearly remember was the White Witch: "_You will be mine forever sooner than you think, little King."_

He sighed, and glanced at the clock on the wall, and cursed under his breath. He was late for dinner; Peter was probably having a heart attack by now. Edmund gave another sigh, and climbed back into bed. He knew he wasn't going to be able to hold down dinner, so his next bet was to stay in bed, and pretend he was asleep, and hope that Peter would leave him alone.

As if on cue, he heard Peter's worried footsteps enter his room. "Edmund?"

Edmund didn't answer, but quickly shut his eyes, and tried his best to feign sleep. Peter marched over to the side of the wall Edmund was facing, and let out an exasperated sigh.

"I know what you look like when you're asleep Ed, and that's not it." Edmund barely had his open half way, when Peter started in on the interrogation.

"Where were you at dinner?"

"I fell asleep, I'm sorry Peter." But Peter just raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was Peter, really." Peter surveyed him skeptically, and stopped at Edmund's eyes and took notice of the gunk stuck to his eyelashes. Edmund always woke up with sleep surrounding his eyes.

"Alright, I believe you. So why didn't you come down when you woke up?"

"I wasn't hungry," Edmund stated matter-of-factly.

Peter through his hands up in the air, thoroughly annoyed now. "Not hungry! You can't be not hungry Edmund, you're practically skin and bones!"

Edmund turned to face the other wall. Peter followed him, and stood in front of him. His hands were on his hips, looking very much like a mother hen, instead of a big brother.

"What is it? I know winter is rough for you, but you know you can always _talk _to me if something is upsetting you. Is that what this is? Are you feeling depressed again? Are you ill? Is it both? _Let me help you Edmund._"

"It's too late for you to help me, Peter," Edmund whispered.

Peter was bewildered, "What does that mean? Can you stop talking in riddles to me, and start answering my questions?"

Edmund shut his eyes tightly at this, and shut Peter out. When Peter realized he wasn't going to get anywhere with Edmund, he walked to his door. "I give up, Ed. You know where to find me if you want to talk about it, and I hope you do it soon. These things have a way of coming around and biting you in the ass when you don't ask for help." With that Peter left, slamming the door behind him.


	2. Revealed

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

**First off thank you for all the lovely reviews, story alerts, and favorites . It's really made me smile, and encouraged me to keep going. So thanks, and I hope this lives up to your expectations. **

**Chapter 2: Revealed**

The next day if Edmund wasn't feeling well, he wasn't showing it while presiding over the hearing. As always, he managed to quickly and eloquently resolve the matter, and the session was ended before lunch.

Peter had sat in the back, as his presence wasn't really required for simple civil hearings, but he'd wanted to keep an eye on Edmund. When everyone else left the room, and Peter had made the appropriate small talk with the other counsel members, he looked up to see Edmund sitting with his head in his hands.

"That was really well done, Ed".

Edmund jumped. "Thanks…but I didn't even know you were in the room."

Peter laughed, "Of course, I was in the room. I had to make sure you didn't collapse, didn't I?"

Edmund scowled. "I'm not going to _collapse _Peter. Stop being so melodramatic."

"Alright, fine. Let's go for a walk before lunch."

Edmund sighed. What did Peter take him for, a blundering idiot? He knew what Peter was going to try and do at this walk. Grudgingly he followed out to the gardens that would be beautiful when it was spring time in Cair Paravel.

"So," Peter started. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Peter," Edmund said stiffly. "Thanks for asking."

"You don't have to hide anything from me you know," Peter said with an eye brow raised.

Edmund snapped, he'd had enough of Peter's interrogations for the week. Plus his head was pounding, and he couldn't deal with Peter's voice echoing in and out of it. "Peter, please just…shut…up. Stop being a mother hen, and hop off already!" Edmund stormed away.

When the bell rang for lunch Edmund was debating on whether or not to go. In the end, he decided that he better go, otherwise Peter would interrogate him more, and he wouldn't take no for an answer this time. Edmund figured he could hold down his lunch until he could be in the privacy of his quarters again.

Susan and Peter were looking at each other worriedly, it'd been five minutes since the bell had sounded, and they were scared that Edmund wasn't going to show up again. They sighed with relief when Edmund appeared, and grumpily sat down. He was all too aware of his older sibling's eyes on him, as he pushed his food around on his plate.

_That's not going to get you anywhere, you're going to have to eat it. _Edmund speared his potatoes, looked pointedly at Peter, and put it in his mouth. He did this until his entire plate was clean. Peter look confused but nodded with a small smile.

This smile faded quickly as Edmund put his hand over his mouth, and bolted out of the room. He was quickly followed by Peter, who ran at top speed, to find Edmund hunched over his wash basin, sick dripping from the side of his chin. Edmund didn't seem to be aware of Peter's hand on his shoulders, as his stomach heaved again, and his eyes slid out of focus.

"I knew you were-"

But halfway through Peter's accusation, Edmund slumped to the floor, and blacked out.

Peter scooped Edmund up, and placed him gently on the bed. "Susan! Susan!"

Susan and Lucy came running, their eyes growing wide as they took stock of the situation. "Susan! I need you to go get a Healer!" "Lucy! I need you to help me get Edmund out of his soiled clothing!"

Susan ran off, without a word. Lucy quickly ran to Edmund's wardrobe, and pulled out his night clothes. Lucy pulled his night shirt over his head, while Peter removed his boots, and leggings. Then Peter lifted Edmund up, while Lucy pulled back the covers. Just as Peter was placing Edmund in the bed, and Lucy covering him up, the Healer rushed in.

He poked, prodded, injected things, and muttered for a half an hour. With each passing moment Peter was getting more and more anxious, a simple fever was not that hard to diagnose. This had to just be a simple fever. Peter repeated the phrase "simple fever", over and over in his head to try and reassure himself.

At last the Healer straightened up, and looked at Peter gravely. Peter gulped. "It seems your Majesty, that King Edmund does not have a simple fever. After much deliberation, I suspect that this isn't the work of an illness, but rather the work of a curse. I do not know much more than that. Perhaps Edmund will know more, and we can ask him when he wakes up. In the mean time would you like me to call a well known Healer that specializes in curses?"

Peter's head was swimming. "Yes, yes call him…"

The Healer nodded sadly, and hurried out to get the message to the specialist.

8

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Peter sat by Edmund's bedside long into the night, hoping that Edmund would wake up soon. His mind was swimming with questions, and no answers. It was infuriating. Peter began pacing back, and forth when Susan came in.

She sighed at Peter, walked up behind him, and enveloped him into a hug. Peter turned around, and buried his head in her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Peter," she crooned comfortingly into his ear. Peter didn't say anything, but they stood like that for a few moments. When Peter pulled back, he gave Susan a weak, grateful smile, and went back to sitting at Edmund's side.

A few hours later, Edmund began to stir. Peter lept up, and sat on the edge of Edmund's bed, waiting breathlessly. When Edmund's eyes peeled open, and took in his surroundings, Peter smiled wryly at him.

"Oh you weren't going to collapse, huh?"

"Is that what I did," Edmund said pleasantly, almost conversationally. He shot Peter a smirk.

Peter rolled his eyes half heartedly. "You really scared me there, Ed…"

Edmund didn't say anything, he could tell that Peter was going to tell him more. More that he already knew years ago.

"We called in a Healer, and he said you aren't ill. You are cursed. He doesn't know much more though, so he's bringing in a curse specialist Healer, but in the mean time he seems to be under the impression that you'd be able to explain."

Edmunds eyes squeezed shut, and small tears trickled out of them. Peter grasped Edmunds hand. "I know you don't want to talk about it, you've been telling me that all week, but you must Edmund. I need to know so I can help you, so the Healers can help you. Please, I'll be patient, you can take five minutes or five hours to explain it, just explain it. I know you know, Ed."

Edmund took a deep shuddering breath, and squeezed Peter's hand back. "_She _did it. Before Orieus and the other warriors rescued me from her, and brought me back to Aslan's camp, she cast the curse on me when she heard them coming. She did it so I could never truly get away. Or at least that's what she said…and she's going to be right…"

There was no need to establish who She was. Peter sat quietly for a minute, and decided that the best way to go about this was calmly and diplomatically. No matter what Edmund told him, he was going to remain calm.

"I'm going to need to know what _it _is," he said gently.

Edmund nodded, squeezing his eyes shut again. He wouldn't be able to handle the look on Peter's face when he told him. "It's a curse that on my sixth winter in Narnia, now, will begin to slowly…slowly rob me of my…life. It portrays itself as an illness, but an illness is less painful." Edmund choked. "It's already started, Pete. I can't eat _anything _without throwing it up, nor do I sleep well. Then there's the headaches because my body isn't getting food or sleep. Do you see? It will slowly whither, agonizingly down, until my body will have no choice but to shut down. I don't know what else will happen before it gets to that point, but that is the basic principle of it. She also said it was practically irreversible, that nothing but powerful, rare magic can cure it."

**-cliffhanger-**


	3. Answers But Not Really

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

**Thanks for the story alerts and reviews, they really make me smile. So thank you…**

**Hope this lives up to your expectations.**

**(My knowledge of the exact details of Narnia is limited as I've only read Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and seen the movies. Please don't hate me for making things up.)**

**Chapter 3: Answers But Not Really**

Edmund had stopped speaking, and the room was silent. The kind of silence that presses in on your ears, and makes you want to scream. But in the end, screaming won't make it go away. Edmund decided he couldn't take the silence anymore; he had to see Peter's face. He slowly opened his eyes to find a pale but still composed Peter staring at him. He waited for Peter to hit him with a thousand guilt inducing questions, but they didn't come. Peter bit his tongue against them. He could see the guilt swimming in his brother's eyes, and there was no need to make it pour over. He didn't have to ask Edmund why he hadn't told anyone until know, even though he'd known for years. He understood that Edmund hadn't wanted to worry them, that he wanted them to have at least five years of normalcy. It didn't make it less infuriating though, but expressing that wouldn't help the situation any.

Instead he asked, "When did it start?"

This clearly wasn't what Edmund had been expecting, his mouth hung open a bit. Realizing he probably looked like an idiot, he quickly shut it. "At the first snow fall, about two weeks ago."

Peter nodded, and looked out the window at the snow with new found disdain. Edmund couldn't take it anymore. Peter was acting too calm.

"Are you mad at me?" He whispered.

"A bit, Ed. But I understand why you didn't say anything, even though it's slightly frustrating. And it's also hard to be mad when I'm so terrified for you."

Edmund nodded, and flopped over onto his stomach so his head was facing the other wall.

"Are you scared?" Peter asked into the silence.

"Yeah, I guess but I've known since I was 10, Peter. There's nothing anyone can do about it. I'm never going to turn 17. I'm never going to court any beautiful women in some far off land. I'm never going to see Lucy turn 18. I'm never going to see you grow old, and hobble along on a cane," Edmund said that with a smirk in his voice. "I'm never going to see Susan get swept off her feet by some gorgeous man, and you being a pain in the ass, making sure she doesn't get hurt."

Peter nearly choked on all the tears threatening to erupt out of him. "How can you be so calm and accepting of this?"

Edmund turned over, and looked Peter square in the eye. "Because I have to be."

They stared, looking each other in the eye, for a few minutes, until Edmund broke their gaze. "You should get some sleep Pete, you look awful."

"You don't look much better," Peter smirked at him.

Edmund rolled his eyes before saying, "I mean it Peter."

Peter left the room grumbling something to the effect of "who's the mother hen now".

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The next morning Peter entered Edmund's quarters to find him sitting at the window seat, looking out the window. Edmund turned when he heard his brother shuffle in.

"I thought I told you to go to bed," he said with his eyebrows raised.

"Did you really think I could sleep after last night?" Peter replied grumpily.

Edmund's eyebrow dropped into a guilty scrunch, and looked away.

Peter walked over, and cupped his chin, turning Edmund's face so he had to look at him. "Ed, look at me." But Edmund kept his eyes focused on the wall behind them.

"Edmund Pevensie, look at me." Edmund shifted his eyes to look into Peter's. "This isn't your fault, you didn't ask for this. And you shouldn't feel like you have to apologize for this. So please don't feel guilty. Please." He let his hand drop.

Edmund nodded but didn't look like he believed him. Peter sighed.

"Your Majesties, the specialist is here," a faun said from the door frame.

Peter nodded. "Bring him in."

The specialist turned out to be a rather plump dwarf, who waddled in with an air of knowledge and experience. He measured up each boy, but it didn't take long to figure out which one was the cursed. The boy with dark hair and eyes, had a sickly complexion, and his cheek bones jut out too far.

"What can I do for you, your Majesties?" He bowed deeply.

Peter looked to Edmund to explain, but Edmund was staring out the window, refusing to turn around. So Peter explained everything Edmund had told him.

"That particular curse has not been used in over a hundred years to my knowledge. It is especially nasty, and among the highest ranks of dark magic. The cure is very difficult to find, to the point that there might no point in looking."

Edmund still hadn't moved. Peter opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was spluttering. Until an idea popped into his head, he knew it wouldn't work, but he had to try, had to ask.

"What about Lucy's cordial?"

"A cordial will only slow the curse down, buy time. It cannot cure it, as it is not an illness or injury."

"And what is the cure?"

The dwarf looked reluctant to give the answer to this until, "I, High King Peter, demand you to tell me."

"An apple from the few remaining trees that grew at the beginning of time. That grew from Aslan's roar. Only one creature, a centaur, is still alive from that time, and knows where they are. But this centaur has not been found for many a year. Sources say he is still alive, and it is rumored he is Tyran forest."

"Thank you, good sir," Peter said gratefully.

The dwarf bowed deeply. "I am afraid that is all I know, your Majesties. I will stay in the area for a few days if you find you need my services, but with your permission, I ask to leave now."

"Permission granted," Peter said nobly.

With one last bow, the dwarf plodded out.

"Edmund?"

Edmund didn't remove his gaze from outside the window. Peter was beginning to wonder how long Edmund had been sitting like that, and worry that he was cutting the circulation off in his ankles. "Don't you dare think about it, Peter."

"Think about what?"

"Going to the Tyran forest."

"Why not? Do you expect me to just sit here and do nothing?" Peter's voice dropped a few notches, "Do you expect me to just sit here and watch you die?"

Edmund finally turned around. "Yes," he said quietly but firmly.

Peter's mouth froze in a shocked "o." "Has this curse made you daft as well?" He screamed.

"Pete, haven't you ever heard anything about the Tyran forest, and surrounding areas?"

Peter shook his head numbly.

"Well I have. They're books on it in the library. It's _dangerous _if that's even the proper word for it. Most people never make it out alive if they enter its borders. It's _barbaric _Peter, and _you are not going." _

Peter looked dumbly at his only brother, before choking out. "So?"

Edmund's pale face flushed with anger and exasperation. "SO? Are you out of your mind? Do you want to get killed?"

"But you're going to die, Edmund."

"I know. But it's not going to help any if you die too." He said defiantly, and got up, and started to walk towards the door.

"You should probably stay in bed," Peter whispered.

"What difference is it going to make?" Edmund shot back, and slammed the door behind him.

Peter sat on Edmund's window seat for many hours, his head swimming with too many thoughts. He wished he could pin them down, and examine one by one but every time he got close to doing so, they exploded into a new order.

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Edmund sat down at the dinner table without looking at his family. He'd heard Susan and Lucy's cries to when Peter told them everything that had happened, and he was not about to look at their faces, eyes still puffy from crying.

Edmund pushed his food around on his plate, feeling his family's gazes burning a hole on the top of his head. Susan cleared her throat. "E-Ed can you pass me the butter?"

Edmund passed her the butter, and caught the look in her eyes. It made his insides flash hot with guilt. "So how was sewing lessons with Mrs. Beaver?" He asked Lucy, trying to make light conversation.

"They, they…they were fine. She showed me how to cross stitch."

They fell silent again.

Edmund stared at his food. He might as well try, so he picked up his fork to Peter's sharp intake of breath, and started to slowly eat his carrots.

He looked up to all of them staring at him, almost waiting for him to break right in front of them because he consumed food.

"You don't have to walk on egg shells around me," Edmund told them in a frustrated voice.

"We-we're not Ed," Susan said, barely audible.

"Yes, you are."

"Then how do you want us to act?" Peter asked.

"Like this isn't happening. Like normal."

With that Edmund's stomach hitched, and he ran out of the room, covering his mouth.


	4. Reversing the Roles

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

_**A special thanks to tacobella18 because she honestly gives me the loveliest reviews that make me feel like my story is amazing. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.**_

_**TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE ATTEMPT AND CUTTING MENTIONED**_

_**Sorry if this cuts the flow of the story, but this idea came to me when I was thinking about where to take the story, and decided to write it. I'm kind of iffy on putting it in. Hopefully you guys like it.**_

**Chapter 4: Reversing the Roles**

Peter got up to chase after Edmund but was stopped by a shouting Lucy.

"No Peter! Let him go!"

Peter whipped around.

In a gentler voice, "I don't think he wants you hovering over him right now. Just let him have his space. If he wants you, he'll seek you out. For now, just let him deal with himself."

Peter looked ready to protest, but then nodded. Lucy was usually right on what to do when it came to Edmund, or even Susan, when things took a turn for the worse. He sat back down, and poked at the rest of his dinner.

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Lucy found Peter with a book in front of his face in his quarters, but she knew he wasn't really reading it. His brow was always furrowed when he read, and it was more tilted in frustration.

"Good book?" She plopped herself onto the bed next to him.

"I've read better," he said, throwing the book aside.

She smiled, and climbed into his lap. Even though she was 14, she still couldn't resist climbing in her big brother's lap, and right now it looked like he could use some cuddling.

She wrapped her arms around his middle, and rested his her head on his chest. She grinned as she felt Peter's head drop onto her shoulders.

"Lucy, I can't do this," he murmured into her shoulder.

"Can't do what?" She said comfortingly, even though she knew bloody well what.

"Can't just sit here, and watch him waste away. That's what is going to happen. I can't. I just can't. And he's just given up, and is acting like it's no big deal."

"I don't think he's given up. I think he's more resigned himself to the fact, and accepted it. While this is disturbing, I suppose it's better than him going suicidal or bitter."

She felt Peter stiffen when she said the word "suicidal". She gasped when she realized her mistake. "Peter, I'm sorry…I didn't mean…it was an accident…"

But he had reached his breaking point. He untangled himself from Lucy, and ran out of the room, into the cold, night air. Leaving Lucy with tears streaming down her face, muttering about how the whole world had turned upside down in one day.

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Peter burst into the cold night air, a scream threatening to rip from his throat. He fell to his knees in the snow, and pounded his fist into it instead of screaming. A memory threatened to over take him, and he resigned himself to it, falling onto his side. The snow seeped into his tunic as the memory took shape in front of his eyes.

_He'd heard a tinkling of glass coming from Edmund's quarters, and a loud thud. He ran into the room, to find Edmund wrists slashed, blood pooling around his 11 year old baby brother. His dark eyes were open, but clouded, waiting for death to take him. _

"_EDMUND!" He screamed, but his voice felt disjointed, like it was coming from a loud speaker somewhere else. _

_He hears Susan and Lucy running. Susan reaches the doorway first. She gasps, and pushes Lucy away, telling her not to leave her room until she is told to do so. Susan then rushes in, and drops next to Peter._

"_I can't believe…" She says in a strangled voice._

"_Go get a healer. Wake up the whole damned castle if you have to," Peter finds himself saying._

_He looks back down at Edmund. His eyes are closing now, slipping out of consciousness. "No, stay with me," he whispers, tears streaming down his face._

_Three healers rush into the room, and Susan pulls Peter away from Edmund. They quickly work around Ed, staunching the bleeding, and force potion, after potion down his throat._

_They put him in his bed. Peter waits anxiously for him to wake up. Hours later, Edmund's eyes flutter open. "Ed…" Peter cries._

"_I'm sorry, Peter," Edmund whispers._

"_Don't be." He strokes Edmund hair, happy to see his little brother breathing._

The memory ended, leaving Peter staring, sideways, at a tree in front of him. He'd almost lost his baby brother that day. When he'd asked Edmund why he did what he did, his heart broke into a million pieces. Edmund recounted feelings of guilt from betraying them, nightmares, worthlessness, hurt, feeling like he didn't deserve to be loved. Peter had made him talk to him every day for the next year, and slowly Peter had helped him cope. Looking back, the curse may have been another reason for doing what he'd had done. Peter nearly screamed again, how had Edmund managed to carry that with him for the last five years, and arrive at a state of acceptance all on his own? It must have been pure agony.

The curse. Peter began to hyperventilate, he was losing his brother again. He wasn't sure if he could stop it. There was scarcely any hope, and Edmund had resigned himself to it. There was very little chance he could be saved. He'd never see his brother again by the time the last snow melted. He'd die a slow, horrible death. He'd never give Peter a sarcastic smirk again. He'd never give Peter a death glare. He'd never tell Peter he was being a mother hen. He'd never watch Edmund swiftly resolve an issue. Never eloquently formulate a treaty with another land. He was just sixteen, barely enough time to live.

Peter's panic attack was in full swing now. His lungs were closing up, he couldn't breathe. The world was slipping in, and out of focus.

He felt arms pulling him up into a sitting position. He leaned back onto the person, wincing as his head knocked onto sharp ribs.

"Breathe in and out, Pete," Edmund's voice came from behind him. "Come on now, you can do it. In and out. In and out."

Peter's breathing slowed, and the world stopped going topsy turvy. Edmund's bony, but surprisingly strong arms, pulled Peter up, and turned him around to face him. "Are you okay now?"

Peter nodded, dazed. He was shivering, and he let out a cough. "Come on, let's get you back inside."

Edmund kept one hand on Peter's back, and the other on his shoulder, and pushed him into the warm light of the castle.

When they reached Peter's quarters, Edmund pushed him down in an arm chair. He went to Peter's wardrobe, and pulled out a nightshirt, in the same manner Lucy had done the night before for him. "Go take a warm bath, and change into this. When you're done I want you to get into that bed, and don't move until I come back."

Peter nodded again, and opened his mouth to say something but Edmund cut him off forcefully. "Don't argue with me. I'm not in the mood."

Peter snapped his mouth shut, and drew the curtains around his bathing area. Edmund sighed, and walked out into the hallway to find Lucy watching from down the hall. Her eyes were puffy. It didn't take Edmund long to put two, and two together.

He marched up to Lucy. "What happened?"

She looked down, ashamed. "I said the s word by mistake, Ed. I'm sorry, it was an accident. I didn't mean to."

She started to cry again. Edmund paled a shade, if that was even possible at this rate. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean it," he told her disjointedly.

Before she could say anything, he was rushing towards the kitchens. Peter was surely going to get a cold now, he was always prone to things like that. That cough Peter had made on his way back inside, hadn't escaped Edmund's notice.

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A half an hour later Edmund walked into Peter's room with a steaming mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Peter was sitting in bed with all the blankets on top of him. His eyes were broken, staring at the patterns on his comforter.

"Drink it," Edmund commanded. Peter took the mug into his hands.

"I'll be back in a minute. Drink all of it." He walked away hearing Peter sneeze.

A few minutes later Edmund came back in his night shirt, and climbed into bed with Peter.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked thickly.

"Reversing the roles," Edmund replied simply.

Peter finished his hot chocolate, and silently handed Edmund the empty mug to put on the bed side table.

The silence was interrupted by a coughing fit. Edmund patted him on the back. "Of all the places to go, you had to go straight into the snow."

Peter's shoulders began to shake, collapsed forward, and buried his face into Edmund's lap. "She, she..said…"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry you had to relive that…I'm sorry I put you through that…" Edmund said softly, rubbing circles into Peter's back.

"I swore to protect you, and I had failed in that moment. And I'm failing again…" Peter moaned.

"You've never failed me…not now, and not then. You helped me Peter, you helped me out of that dark corner. I am eternally grateful for that. And now, it is not your fault."

"I feel so helpless…"

"I know you do, and that's the worst feeling in the world for you. But it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay." Edmund knew full well it was going to be okay, at least for a very long time, a time he'd never live to see. But he didn't know what else to say.

Peter cried himself dry for over an hour. When he was finished his eyes were sore, and his head was pounding. He was drained. Pulling himself out of Edmund's arms, he slumped onto his pillows.

"Thanks, Ed."

Edmund gave him a weak smile. "Get some sleep Peter, you're going to need it to get rid of this cold."

He gave Peter a small pat on the shoulders, and began to untangle himself from the blankets. "No…can…can you stay?" Peter's voice was small.

"Sure." Edmund allowed himself to get tangled into the blankets again. Peter fell asleep almost instantly, exhausted from his emotional breakdown. However, Edmund stared at the ceiling for hours, before getting pulled away into a fitful sleep.


	5. Arguments and Decisions

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

_**Thanks again for all the reviews. You guys are so lovely.**_

_**I apologize in advance for the ridiculous names some of these centaurs have been given. **_

_**WARNING: MILD CURSING.**_

**Chapter 5: Arguments and Decisions**

Peter's eyes snapped open at the sound of someone screaming. He bolted upright, and looked around widely with bleary eyes. His eyes fell on Edmund, who was thrashing and screaming in his sleep.

"Edmund! Wake up! It's okay, it's not real! Wake up!"

But Edmund wouldn't wake up. Peter tried everything: he shook him, he shouted in his ear, he hit with pillows, he tickled him, he pounced onto him, he forced him to sit up, but none of it worked.

Peter watched Edmund thrash, scream, and moan incoherent things into his pillow for the better part of an hour. Then Edmund just stopped moving, and continued sleeping like nothing had happened.

It was four in the morning, but Peter had no desire to go back to sleep. He sat and waited for Edmund to wake up, mulling thing over in his mind. He rubbed his eyes, which were still sore from earlier. That sealed it. He'd sworn to protect his brother no matter what the cost, and he wasn't going to fail again without trying. Edmund would be furious with him, and it could cost him that. At the same time, he could deal with Edmund's anger if he knew it was going to save him. He couldn't just sit idly by, bating the time until his brother's demise. He had to _try. _

Finally Edmund stirred, rolling over onto his back. He groaned and put his hands over his face, "I feel bloody awful."

When Peter's congested voice said, "Yeah, you look it." Edmund's eyes flew open, and looked surprised to see Peter there. He had clearly forgotten that he was in his brother's room, otherwise he would have never muttered that.

"Close the curtains, will you? The light is making my headache worse."

Peter went over and closed the curtains, blocking out the pale morning sunlight. He walked back over to the bed, and stared at the lump of blankets that was Edmund.

"Are you okay?" He knew the answer, but didn't really know what else to say.

"No. And I'm not going to be," came Edmund's muffled voice. He had put the blankets over his head.

"Ed, you need to stop that. You can't keep thinking like that."

"Why? I'm just saying how it is."

"Because I can't believe you're just giving up so easily! Edmund Pevensie never backs down from a fight. So where is he?"

He heard Edmund's exasperated sigh from underneath the blankets. "Edmund Pevensie is also practical and realistic. And this is him being both."

"But-"

Edmund's head emerged from the blankets. "Look, just shut up, okay? Your voice is making my head pound, and like I said last night, don't argue with me. I'm not in the mood."

Peter pursed his lips. "Fine. I'm going to breakfast, are you coming?"

"What kind of torture are you trying to subject me to? No. That would be stupidly futile." And his head slipped back under the blankets.

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An hour later Peter walked into his room to find that Edmund hadn't moved from where he left him. He climbed back into bed beside Edmund, and at the shifting of the mattress, Edmund pulled the blankets off of his head.

"How are you feeling?"

"Amazing."

"I wanted an honest answer, Ed."

"You're not getting one. How are _you _feeling?" Smirking as snot dribbled out of Peter's nose.

"Probably a lot better than you." Edmund nodded in agreement.

"Are you going to get out of my bed sometime today?" Peter asked with a playful smile that didn't reach is eyes.

"Nope, I think I'll stay here. Plus I get dizzy if I move too much."

Peter's smiled faded. "I could carry you to your bed-"

Edmund looked mortified. "You are _not carrying _me anywhere. I don't see why I can't stay here, it's not like you need your bed right now."

"Alright. Then is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Peter asked trying to be compliant with Edmund's grumpy mood. Peter couldn't blame him.

"Yeah. Leave me alone."

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Edmund's mood wasn't likely to lift any time soon, so Peter decided he better get his plan into action. He found Orieus in the armory and walked up to him with a sense of importance.

"Orieus, I need to hold counsel with all the centaurs. Counsel will be in two hours, please spread the word around."

Orieus wanted to question what this was about but didn't at the look on Peter's face. "My pleasure, your Majesty."

Peter offered him a weak smile, "Thank you."

Two hours later Peter was holding counsel with a few dozen centaurs. They looked up and down the high table confused. Edmund was always present when they held counsel.

Peter spoke in his best commanding tone, drawing all the eyes onto him. "I have called this counsel to discuss a manner that weighs seriously on the well being of Narnia. I apologize profusely for the short notice, but I am sure that will become irrelevant as I reveal the manner at hand." Peter paused, sweeping his eyes across the room full of silent, respectful centaurs.

"King Edmund the Just has had a curse fall upon him that may severely shorten the time he spends with us." There was muttering among the centaurs.

Peter waited for it to die down before speaking again. "In order to reverse this curse, I need to find a fellow centaur who is as old as time itself, in the forest of Tyran. If any of you good centaurs have any information on the forest of Tyran or your fellow who resides in it, I kindly ask you to step forward."

There was an angry grunt from the corner. "He is no fellow centaur."

"I am deeply sorry for offending you good sir. But as King Edmund's life remains the price, it is prudent that we lay aside our prejudices, and share pure knowledge."

The angry centaur, bowed his head. Peter nodded at him in forgiveness.

A small centaur with a deep voice stepped forward. "Your Majesty, it is rumored that this centaur's name is Cornuck. He lives in the beastly forest of Tyran," he paused looking to Peter for his permission to continue. Peter nodded encouragingly, and he continued. "He holds all the knowledge to the world since the beginning of time, yet he is cruel. He does not share this information easily, and not without…payment."

The way the centaur said payment, Peter had a feeling it wasn't money or harvested goods. "Thank you, gentle fellow. Now how does one find this Cornuck, and urm…pay him?"

He was met with silence. Peter raised his eyebrows, and swept his eyes across the room again in the most commanding way possible.

A much older centaur stepped forward, his grey tail swishing. "Legend has it that he lives in the largest tree in the forest. The only way to gain an audience with him is too…weaken one self, so he is able to gain power over the intruder. For the matter of payment, one must accept a dangerous quest to bring him back some wanted object from another land."

"Thank you." Peter nodded towards him.

"Many thanks to those who stepped forward and volunteered information, I now must ask of you something else. Please do not take this the wrong way, but I kindly ask for assistance on my journey to the Tryan forest to save my brother. This will be terribly dangerous, and I ask those that have families to remain behind. But if anyone should want…"

Orieus stepped forward. "I, Orieus, will follow your lead on this journey, your Majesty." Peter bowed to him.

Another centaur stepped forward. He was old, but his torso was strong, and marked with many scars. "I, Rarnus, will follow your lead on this journey, your Majesty. I have been to the forest of Tyran before, and while I have sworn to never enter it again, I will do so for the sake of my country's Just King." Peter bowed to his knees at this.

No one else stepped forward; Peter rose from his knees. "Many thanks to Orieus and Rarnus, if we survive this journey, you will be regarded with the highest honor. Thank you again for coming on such short notice. Counsel dismissed."

Peter slipped through the back door, and headed to the library. He had a lot of reading to do.

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Edmund hadn't bothered to show up to dinner or lunch, and upon his request Peter had instructed his sisters to leave him alone. Now that the sun had set, Peter had decided that it was time to have a much needed discussion with Edmund. A discussion that Edmund was not going to like one bit.

Peter entered the room quietly, finding Edmund reading the book Peter had thrown aside the night before. Edmund looked up. "If you want your bed back, I can move now. You look exhausted."

Peter brushed the remark off, "No, you can stay there. We need to talk."

Edmund's smirk slipped away as if someone had smacked him. He had a sinking feeling as to where this was going. Peter turned around to face him, looking him square in the eye.

"I'm going to the forest of Tyran to find the centaur, Cornuck with Orieus and Rarnus. My. decision is final."

Edmund's mouth fell open, his eyes burned with anger and disappointment. "Have you lost your damn mind? One king gone is enough, but Narnia cannot lose her _High King_," he hissed.

"She cannot lose her Just King either," Peter replied smoothly.

Edmund's face turned red, and considering how pale he was, Peter couldn't help but notice that he looked like a freckled tomato. If this had been any other argument, he would have pointed this out.

"I know what this about, _High King Peter," _he spat Peter's title. "It's about your effing pride, and idiotic oaths to keep me safe. It's about you feeling like you have failed. It's about you feeling helpless. Well I'm sorry you feel those things at my cost, but use your head for a minute."

"I have used my head Edmund, and this is what conclusion my head has drawn." Peter was refusing to get angry, and this made Edmund livid. He hated when Peter tried act like the bigger man, when in reality he was being the biggest moron ever.

"No, I'm sorry I don't think you have. If you go off to Tyran forest and get yourself killed, it will be down to Susan and Lucy. They are perfectly capable of running Narnia on their own, and they could do it extremely well, but this works because there are four of us…" Edmund faltered realizing he'd just played into the hands of Peter's argument.

"Four, which will be soon be three. Unless I do something to try and prevent that," Peter said quietly.

"Are you daft? Yes you can try, but what if it comes down to only two? Then where will Narnia be? Can't you see that it is better to let one king die, and not risk the death of another!" Edmund was shouting now, but lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper for what he said next. "You're going to just have to accept it Peter, and by Aslan the day that I die, I hope you find it in yourself to carry on. Because that's what I want. I don't want you possibly dying at the hands of some foul centaur named Cornuck."

A single tear escaped, and trailed down Peter's cheek. "And I don't want you dying at the hands of a foul curse from an evil woman."

Edmund bore his gaze into Peter's cracking blue eyes, and held it until Peter looked away. He watched Peter pace, fighting to regain his composure. Five minutes later, Peter walked over to the side of his bed. He clasped his hands behind his back, and used the voice he used in counsel.

"This is what is going to happen Edmund. You are going to take a drop of Lucy's cordial to slow the curse down. I am then going to proceed to the Tyran forest. It is final, so there is no point in screaming yourself hoarse."

Edmund opened his mouth to say something, "Don't argue with me. I'm not in the mood," Peter shot, using Edmund's own words against him.

Edmund clamped his mouth shut, and gave Peter a death glare. Peter soaked it in, it may be possibly the last time he'd see Edmund give him one. "I'm going with you," Edmund said slowly into the silence.

"You will do no such thing, Edmund. You are to stay here."

"But the cordial will slow it down, I can come with you. I can help you. I can, can…protect you." Edmund looked away.

"Who's protective instincts are coming out now? But the answer remains no."

Edmund opened his mouth to protest, but Peter cut him off. He knew this was going to be a low blow, striking when Edmund was already down. But he knew this was the only way to get Edmund to do as he was told.

"I understand, Ed. But you're going to get worse, no matter how much the cordial slows it down. Soon you won't be able to defend yourself properly, and I will have to defend for two. And…and what if something happens as a result of this? What if I get injured because I have to defend you as well? What if, what if I die…?"

Edmund looked like he had been punched in the gut, and made no move to try and hide his hurt. "You don't know how long this is going to take, you could come back with the damned apple but I could already be dead," he whispered.

Now it was Peter's turn to look like he'd been punched in the gut. "No. My decision is final," he whispered back and left the room to get Lucy.

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Lucy and Peter had at first gone back to Peter's quarters to find it empty. Edmund had made his way back to his own bed, and had drawn the curtains around him. Lucy gently opened the curtains, and smiled cheerfully. "Open up, Ed."

Edmund's lips remained together, as if someone had glued them. Peter was soon beside Lucy. "Now, Edmund," he told him in a hard voice, but his eyes were even harder.

Edmund opened his mouth just a smidge, and Lucy quickly pounced, and forced a rosy drop down his throat. Edmund's glare was met with Lucy pecking him on the forehead, and skipping off. He turned his glare onto Peter.

"_I cannot believe that you are doing this." _


	6. The Journey Begins

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

_**Again thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry for not really updating sooner. I know this chapter is short, but I felt like where I ended it was a good place to stop. I promise there will be another chapter soon. And sorry if some of this is a bit choppy.**_

**Chapter 6: The Journey Begins **

Peter was standing at the doorway to Edmund's quarters, the sky outside just starting to lighten to turquoise. Tears were openly sliding down his face, as he stared at Edmund's sleeping form on the plush bed. Edmund was sleeping anything but peacefully, and this made it all the harder for Peter to leave him. He wanted to stay with Edmund until he woke up, let him know what whatever was happening inside those dreams wasn't real. But he couldn't. The best way to do this was to do it before Edmund could stop him, before he could see Edmund's hurt face again.

He walked silently over to wear Edmund was sleeping, desperate to take in every last feature. He didn't want to remember Edmund this way, with his body looking frail. He wanted to remember the alive Edmund, whose freckled cheeks were full, and red. He wanted to remember the dark brown eyes that no one could ever decipher, because Edmund had such vast inner world that no one could ever imagine, that were bright with a constant smirk. He didn't want to remember Edmund with his cheek bones sticking out painfully, his freckles popping off his pale skin, or eyes that still held that secret world, but instead were rimmed with hard acceptance and pain. But he didn't have a choice, remembering Edmund like this was better than not remembering him at all. So he drank in every last feature, until when he closed his eyes he could see Edmund's face staring back at him.

Wiping his tears, he leaned over, and kissed Edmund's sweaty forehead. He brushed Edmund's sweat soaked hair out of his face, staring down at him, his eyes nearly cracking in half at leaving his baby brother alone in this. But his eyes harden resolutely, he had to do this. Taking in one last look at Edmund, he swept from the room, and didn't look back.

Grabbing his saddle bag he packed the night before, he met Oreius and Rarnus outside by the stables. Climbing onto his unicorn, he took one last look at Edmund's window, and muttered "I'm sorry," under his breath. Peter gave his companions a nod, and they rode off.

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While Peter had told Susan and Lucy what he was doing, he had not told Edmund. The next morning when Susan went down to breakfast, there was a note on her seat. It said simply:

"Take care of Edmund, and yourself. All my love, Peter."

Susan sighed. This was going to be a long day. She had barely finished her thought, when Edmund came bounding into the room, still in his nightshirt. He looked frantically around, "Where is he Susan?"

She stared at him, knowing the words she was going to tell him next were going to crush him. He didn't need anything else to crush him, but she also couldn't lie to him.

"Where is he?" He repeated, his voice rising a notch in desperation.

"He left, Ed. This morning." His face contorted, and he ran from the room.

Susan sighed and got up to follow him, today would be one of those days where they couldn't just leave him be. Knowing him and his stubbornness, he'd do something stupid. As predicted, she found him in the armory, struggling to get his armor on.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going with him. I know the direction he's headed, I heard him talking with Orieus last night. I can't just stay here," He said wildly.

"Oh but you must." And she swiftly pinned him against the wall. She laughed at the look of shock on his face. Her siblings tended to forget that even though she was Susan the Gentle, she was also very capable, especially when it came to her family.

Overcoming his initial surprise, he began to struggle against her. "Lemme go, Su. I need to go."

"I'm not letting you go. You are in no fit state to go running off on your own."

"I'm fine!" But almost as if he jinxed it his head chose that minute to begin pounding, and before he could stop himself, he let out a moan, and grabbed his head.

"My point exactly," she said grimly, and gently pushed him into a sitting position.

An hour later, Edmund was forced into bed by Susan. "You know I can still walk around with a headache."

"Yes, but it's easier to keep an eye on you this way."

"Are you going to chain me to the bed or something, Su?"

She gave him a devious smile. "If I have to."

He rolled his eyes, and looked out the window.

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The rain slicked Peter's hair down as his sore body bumped along on his horse. His cold from the other night was in full swing now, just barely holding onto his unicorn while he coughed deeply.

Orieus eyed Peter nervously, "Maybe we should stop your Majesty."

"No, no, I'm fine, we need to keep going. Unless you two need to stop?" Peter replied inbetween coughs.

"No we do not need to stop, but I really think it best that we do." Rarnus said over Peter's coughing.

"No. That won't be necessary, it's just a cold. Nothing compared to Ed…" Peter trailed off, and the two centaurs let the subject drop.

However, Orieus being the closest to Peter and Edmund, knew them better than any other centaury. He half teased, and half scolded Peter. "You and your brother are stubborn as mules. I hope you realize how exasperating the pair of you are."

"We are, but where would be if we weren't?"

Rarnus took a guess, "Dead?"

"Exactly," Peter said. And as if to finalize the discussion he rode ahead of the two centaurs, making sure to straighten his slumping posture as he went.

They rode in silence, with the exception of Peter's coughing, for a few more hours. As Orieus heard Peter's cough steadily deepen, he was about to force Peter to stop, when a large tree branch did the job for him.

There was a sickening crunch as Peter's head got wacked by a tree branch, and he slumped forward on his unicorn. The world went black.

Rarnus and Orieus ran over to Peter, and layed him down on wet leaves.

"Knew he should have been made to stop…" Orieus grumbled.


	7. Missing Each Other

**HIDDEN CURSE**

**Edmund: 16**

**Peter: 19**

**Susan: 18**

**Lucy: 14**

_**I know that this is making the story move even slower, but I thought it was important to get to know some of the characters and what not. Plus, I'm sorting of hitting a block with this story so I figured I'd go with whatever idea I got. Sorry if this is crap, maybe I'll delete it later. Anyway, tell me what you think.**_

**Chapter 7: Missing Each Other**

Peter's eyes felt heavy as he struggled to pull them open. Seeing that Peter was fighting to get his eyes open, Orieus went over to him.

"This is why you should have listened to me…."

But Peter didn't hear him because he blacked out again.

Two hours later Peter finally peeled his eyes open for good. He looked around him dazed, taking in the forest trees above him, the wet leaves underneath his tunic, and Rarnus lying by a fire. Peter sat up, brushing leaves out of his hair.

"Where's Orieus?"

"He went to scope out the area. How are you feeling?" Rarnus asked.

"Um…fine."

"I'm no fool Peter Pevensie, don't take me as one," Rarnus smiled at him.

Peter stared at him open mouthed. He had used his common name, and Peter didn't know what to make of that. If Edmund had been there, Edmund would have demanded an explanation. But Peter quickly pushed any thought of Edmund out of his head, and snapped his mouth shut.

"I-I never did. I feel like I feel like I've just been wacked by a branch and like I have a cold? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Rarnus nodded, "Something like that. Now lie down again, and stay that way. We'll continue in the morning."

Peter put his head back on the leaves without question. He couldn't explain why he was allowing himself to be treated like a child (even though, he was one) when he was High King but there was something about Rarnus that made him seem old, powerful, and fatherly. Like he had been around a lot longer than many other Narnians. Whatever it was, Peter felt compelled to obey him.

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A few days later Edmund was tiredly making his way down to dinner. While it was futile to try and eat anything, he went at Susan's insistence, and did it just to keep her off his back. Sitting down at the table, he looked up to find Susan glaring pointedly at his plate. He felt frustration boil up, she didn't get it. She thought that he had to keep _trying, _and if did that he might be able to eat properly. He wasn't in the mood to argue with her, so he speared his fork into his food, and prayed that the inevitable didn't happen.

About fifteen minutes into the meal, he had still managed to keep it down. Susan was giving Edmund a satisfied, "told you so" smirk. He rolled his eyes at her in response, and waited patiently until everyone else was done eating before excusing himself from the table. He had politely declined himself from desert. One look at the heavy chocolate pudding made his stomach do a somersault and it was best not to push it. He was surprised as he was that he hadn't puked his guts up already.

Entering his quarters he felt a wave of dizziness pass through him. His hand shot towards the wall, as he edged a long it making his way towards his bed, his stomach hitched. But he couldn't get himself to change directions quickly enough, and found himself emptying his stomach contents on the floor. He groaned, and slid his back down the wall.

Susan was on her way to check on him, when he retched again. She ran into the room expecting him to be at the basin, but turned to see him in a heap on the floor. She quickly made her way over to him, and smoothed his hair out of his eyes.

"I told you," Edmund told her through gritted teeth.

"Oh Ed…"

He heaved again, tears welling in his eyes. Susan reached out, and started rubbing circles into his back. He stiffened. That's what Peter used to do when Edmund was little and he was sick or upset. Edmund felt a pang go through him, realizing that he wanted Peter there, not Susan. A wave of anger passed through him. Peter had left him alone in this. He winced as he silently pleaded in his head that he needed Peter. Soon, he felt his logic kicking in and told himself to stop with this nonsense, but he couldn't shake a sense of abandonment.

"Should get a healer Ed?"

"No, but you should listen to me before forcing me to do eat. Because now we're both sitting in a puddle of sick," he gasped.

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Peter was growing increasingly more anxious as they got closer to the forest of Tyran. The last few days had passed without incident, as expected since they were in friendly territory. However, as Peter sat staring at the fire he was absent mindedly ripping up the grass and playing with it in his hands. He missed Edmund. He wasn't going to deny it. He also realized that Susan would probably force Edmund into doing things he didn't want to, and the results wouldn't be pretty. He felt a knot of guilt lodge itself in his throat. He had left Edmund alone in that. Maybe he shouldn't have left him alone there, and sent someone else to do the deed. _No, it has to be you Peter. You need to help him. Staying there with him wouldn't save him. _But he couldn't get the thought out of his head that he could have just sent someone else. He was stupid. So stupid, but now it was too late.

Peter felt a hand on his, and looked up.

"You are destroying the grass, Peter." Rarnus told him, gently prying his hands open, and taking the scraps of grass out of them.

_Peter. _There it was again. His common name. For the last few days he had been referred to as "your Majesty" by Rarnus, but now he was calling him Peter again.

Rarnus plopped himself down next to him. "You look troubled."

"Just thinking."

"About?" Rarnus pried.

"If this was the right choice," Peter said simply, staring straight ahead.

"Ah," Rarnus nodded but didn't offer further comment. They sat in silence for a few minutes, when Peter couldn't keep the question from slipping off his tongue any longer.

"Why do you sometimes call me Peter and other times your Majesty?" He looked at Rarnus.

"Because at times you are High King, but at times you are just a boy."

"Oh."

"Does it bother you to be called Peter?"

"No. Just don't let Edmund hear you call…" Peter stopped. Edmund might not be hearing anybody call him Peter.

Rarnus shook his shoulder gently. "I'll be sure that King Edmund does not hear me call you Peter."

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It was just after midnight and Lucy was sitting in the armchair beside Edmund's bed. She couldn't explain why she was there, it just felt like she should be. She couldn't explain it to herself, but there were a lot of things she couldn't explain to herself, so she let it drop. She watched Edmund's chest rise and fall, as he twisted himself in the blankets. Lucy had half the mind to untangle him, but didn't want to wake him.

She watched as his tossing and turning, became flailing, and he had begun muttering in his sleep. Lucy was sliding out of the arm chair when he screamed, and his eyes snapped open.

Lucy froze. She wasn't sure if she should let Edmund know she was in the room. Edmund didn't like to be coddled, and watching him sleep was definitely under the definition of coddled for Edmund.

Not knowing that Lucy was in the room, Edmund slumped over onto his side, and curled into a fetal position. His shoulders began shaking. Lucy realized with a pang that he was crying. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Edmund cry. That wasn't to say that he never did, she knew he did, but he never did it in front of anyone. The only person he'd ever cry in front of was Peter, otherwise he was busy making himself appear stoic and strong which always found a way of "biting him in the ass". At least that was how Peter always put it.

Edmund felt the mattress shift, and immediately forced himself to stop crying. A small hand brushed across his cheek, moving the hair, and tucking it behind his ear.

"You need a haircut," Lucy murmured.

After trying to subtly wipe away the evidence of his crying, Edmund rolled over.

"What are you doing here, Lu?" His puffy, red eyes were looking anywhere but at Lucy.

"I don't know," she replied truthfully.

"You don't know?" Edmund was confused.

"Yes. I just felt like I needed to be here, and so I've been here for about an hour, watching you, urm, sleep." She explained.

Edmund didn't know what to say that. His cheeks flushed, "Oh."

"Why were you crying?" Lucy gently wiped away a tear Edmund had missed.

"I wasn't."

"Ed, you're an awful liar."

Edmund didn't say anything to that, but rolled over so his back was to Lucy. For the second time he felt someone rubbing circles into his back. Tears welled up, and spilled over. "Please don't do that," he whispered.

Lucy withdrew her hand. "Sorry."

She knew he was crying again, by the occasional sniffle. Perceptive as always, she stated simply, "You miss him."

Edmund stiffened, but rolled over to face her. There was no point in lying to Lucy. Somehow she just always knew. He nodded.

"Why did you scream?"

This caused fresh tears to grace his freckled cheeks. "He…he was dead…and then I was…dead, and you and Susan were alone…" He turned his face into the pillow.

He heard Lucy slide down underneath the blankets, and scoot over closer to him. She gently tugged his shoulder, so he was facing her. His puffy, dark eyes stared into hers. Pressing on the back of his head, she forced in unto her shoulders. She rubbed his shoulder with her thumb; making sure if didn't make circles. After a few minutes she opened her mouth to say something, but she felt his breathe blowing evenly on her ear. He'd fallen asleep.

The silent filtered through the curtains, and landed on Edmund's eyes. They flew open, Lucy's closed eyes directly in front of his. He blinked, disoriented, but relaxed as the night before came flooding back to him. His stomach twisted in embarrassment. He wanted to remove himself from Lucy, but he didn't want to wake her. So he lay there, and slowly began to become aware of himself. He hadn't felt well in a long time, but this was an exceptional.

"Lucy…" He croaked. He gently shook her shoulder.

"Edmund," she said back, looking at him through sleepy eyes.

"Lu..I…" he tried, but couldn't make the rest of the words come out.

She took in his bleary eyes, shivering frame, and flushed cheeks. Realization dawned on her. She moved the back of her hand to his forehead.

"Oh Ed, you're burning up," she sighed.

He nodded meekly. Lucy climbed out of bed, and went to the wardrobe. She pulled out the extra blankets, and draped them over her shivering brother. He burrowed himself under them, coughing.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get Susan."

Edmund didn't reply though, he had already fallen back into a fitful sleep.

8888

The early morning sunlit was reflecting off of Peter's armor. Today they were going to enter the forest of Tyran, they were only four miles off. That would be easily covered in a manner of an hour.

Last night they had been discussing the entrance to the forest, and Rarnus had shared stories of what was waiting for them inside as a manner of preparation.

Peter shuddered at the thought of the stories, and mounted his unicorn.


	8. Steps Forward

**OKAY WOW. It's been forever with this story. I hope people still read it. **

**I was originally planning on just leaving this abandoned but I decided to reboot it. So here's the next chapter. Sorry for the lack of action so far in Tyran, I'm still planning what I want to happen in there, but something more intense will happen next chapter.**

**Thanks for reading...**

* * *

><p>Rarnus lead the pack to the entrance of the Tyran forest. Peter and Orieus stood the sides of him slightly behind him. Peter took a deep breath and started to urge his unicorn forward when Rarnus stopped him.<p>

"Wait, King Peter-"

Peter stopped and looked at Rarnus waiting for him to reveal why he had told him to wait.

Rarnus turned around to face the troops. "Remember what we discussed last night. The entrance to the forest is easy-it's the easiest part of the journey-but if, and only if, you do not think about your worries while entering. Otherwise, the trees will begin to close and we will have to wait until the next sunrise to try again."

Rarnus looked into everyone's eyes, landing on Peter's last, and holding his gaze the longest. Peter set his resolve and nodded. He had been thinking about Edmund non-stop since he had left the Cair. Satisfied that Peter understood, Rarnus turned around.

"Everyone, take a moment to prepare yourself," Rarnus commanded.

A minute later Rarnus took the first step forward.

8888

Lucy looked up from her book briefly to glance at Edmund who was sleeping somewhat peacefully with the help of a calming draught from the healers. She went back to reading for a few minutes before sighing, and turning her attention to her older sister.

Susan was sitting unmoving in an armchair she had pulled up towards Edmund's bed. She sat rigidly staring at the wall. Lucy sighed and walked across the room to her sister.

"Su?" Lucy said softly.

Susan turned to look at her sister.

"How about we go make some tea and get something to eat?" Lucy said gently, taking her sister's hand.

Susan shook her head, leaving her hand limp in Lucy's.

"Su, you're tired. You should go get some rest. I'll send for you if something in Edmund changes," Lucy tried again. She knew this was a low blow but sometimes this was the only way to get through to Susan when she got like this, "Ed...Pete...and I...we need you to be well enough to help. You need yourself well enough too. I'll have someone send some tea and sandwiches to your room. Go nap," Lucy said pulling Suan out of her chair and walking her to her room.

Susan said nothing in protest, dragging her feet while Lucy lead her. Once Lucy was sure that her sister was situated in bed, she walked back to Edmund's room. Susan would talk when she was ready. She needed time to think about things, and rest. She was like Edmund. They needed space and time before talking about all of the things inside of their heads. It took Lucy and Peter a long time to understand this in their siblings since they both instantly wanted to help if something was wrong, and because Peter and Lucy tended to be instantly vocal about their emotions and ideas.

Opening the door, she found Edmund panting and sitting up in bed. She ran over to her brother.

"Ed? What's wrong? Does something hurt? What's going on?"

Edmund shook his head. "I...I'm fine. It was just a dream." He flopped back down on the pillows and steadied his breathing.

Lucy climbed up on the bed and sat cross-legged on the edge, facing her brother. "Do you want to talk about your...dream…nightmare…?" Lucy trailed off.

Edmund clamped his mouth shut and remained silent. "It helps to talk about it, but you already know that," Lucy said. Edmund was the most experienced with dealing with nightmares.

Edmund slowly pushed himself up and looked into Lucy's eyes before staring at his hands. "I...I don't really remember much, Lu. Just the ending."

"That's okay. You can tell me what you remember."

"It was just..her...her face stark in the darkness, and she said just kept repeating '_your time is running out'_", Edmund finished in a hushed voice.

Lucy took a sharp intake of breath and found herself at a loss for words. All the usual comforts of it was just a dream, it wasn't real, it's over now, no longer applied. For all they knew, the last remnants of Jadis were actually speaking to Edmund in his dreams. And if even if they weren't Edmund's time _was _running out.

"We'll just have to pray to Aslan that Peter comes back in time," Lucy sighed, squeezing her brother's hands before hopping off the bed. "I'm going to go check on Susan."

She didn't see Edmund's face go stony at the mention of Aslan. She didn't hear Edmund whisper so lowly he could barely hear himself, "If Peter comes back at all."

8888

Peter let out a brief sigh of relief. They had made it in about a mile into the Tyran forest. Being in the Tyran forest for the reasons he was, was nothing to be relieved about, but Peter was fearful that he wouldn't be able to quiet his mind long enough. The cool water slipping down Peter's throat also brought him a small sense of relief.

Orieus broke his reverie. "Your majesty."

"Yes?" Peter snapped his head around to look at Orieus.

"Remember what I taught you about vigilance. You will especially need it in this territory," Orieus reminded Peter in the tone he used during lessons.

"Right. You're right," Peter smiled slightly at him and worked to bring all of his senses.

"Orieus!" Rarnus called.

"Yes?"

"Fall back to the end of the troops, make sure no creature or thing is following us," Rarnus commanded.

Orieus nodded briskly and fell back.

Once Orieus was out of earshot, Rarnus fell in step with Peter's unicorn. "Orieus is right, you shouldn't let your senses down too much. But, clearing your mind is also a useful skill to have in life. It's good for you."

Peter looked at Rarnus confused. "Those things are the exact opposite of each other."

"Not really, you'll see in time," Rarnus said with an air of wisdom.

"What do you mean by that?" Peter asked, still confused.

Rarnus opened his mouth to explain before stilling for a moment and screaming, "HALT!"

Seconds later a tree fell three feet in front of them.


End file.
